In “Main Event,” which I posted yesterday, I argued that the news of the terrorist bombing plots would work to the Republicans’ advantage in the fall elections. Four of the six readers who posted comments took issue with the post, as did our editor, Evan Smith, who told me he had to resist the urge to post his objections. Well, the Washington Post ran a story yesterday that began, “The domestic response to yesterday’s arrests in Britain drew cautious praise for the Bush administration’s often beleaguered Department of Homeland Security.” And check out these excerpts from a UPI story that show how the Republicans can put the security issue to use to attract/alarm/arouse voters:
*”U.S. intelligence officials say the alleged terrorist plot to blow up planes bound for major U.S. cities might show signs of al Qaida involvement.”
*(Citing the New York Times) “FBI Director Robert Mueller III said Thursday the scope and targets of the plot, which involved suicide bombings on five planes headed from Britain to major U.S. cities, were ‘suggestive of al Qaida direction and planning’ . . . .”
*”Former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White, who prosecuted a similar plot to attack planes flying over the Pacific in 1995, said the plan ‘has all the earmarks of an al Qaida plot.’
The defense rests.
